In many automobiles, the turn signal controls consist of a turn signal lever extending radially from the steering column. The lever is vertically actuated in order to control the left hand and right hand turn signal lights. However, for individuals with an impaired physical condition which does not allow use of their left arm, such as amputees or individuals who have suffered a stroke, it is not possible to operate a lever that requires left hand engagement. Therefore, such an impaired driver cannot operate the left-handed turn signal lever on a conventional automobile.
In order to make the left-handed turn signal lever control accessible to the right hand of a driver, a prior art device was devised that included a vertically oriented arm extending upward from the left-handed turn signal lever. One end of the arm was positioned proximate a portion of the steering wheel such that the right hand of the driver could steer the vehicle and actuate the turn signal lever via the vertical arm. The other end of the vertical arm terminated in a block having a hole therein through which extended the lever. To attach the prior art turn signal bar to the turn signal lever of the automobile, all the radially extensive mechanisms on the turn signal lever had to be removed such that the block could be slipped over the extensive end of the turn signal lever. A set screw extended into the hole of the block and frictionally engaged the lever to fix the vertical arm onto the turn signal lever.
However, when automobile manufacturers added additional controls for other accessories onto the extensive end of the turn signal lever, removal of those controls was not possible and the prior art turn signal became inoperable. These accessory controls include wiper controls which rotate about the longitudinal axis of the turn signal lever. The rotational movement from the wiper control knob is carried by a control rod to a complementary mechanism in the steering column. The prior art turn signal bar would not permit use of this accessory control notwithstanding the inability of the block of the bar to fit over the accessory control knob.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a turn signal adaptor which addresses the problems of ease of use and installation, thereby allowing such individuals to retain their ability to obtain driving privileges and the associated freedom. It would also be beneficial to provide an adaptor which does not interfere with a non impaired individual from operating the vehicle normally.